Day trip to the Circum-Baikal Railway – Lake Baikal, Russia

After getting back to Irkutsk, we took a day trip to the Circum-Baikal Railway… a section of railway once part of the original Trans Siberian railroad. Today, however it only operates as a short section, which runs up and down along the coast of Lake Baikal for tourists. For me, it was simply an interesting place to go since I’d never been here before even though I’ve spent over a month in Irkutsk over the course of three separate visits.

Cirum-Baikal Railway History

When I learned about how the Circum-Baikal Railway came about, I found its history fascinating. As it started out, the Trans Siberian railroad had originally run from Irkutsk straight down to Lake Baikal (a distance of about 40 miles/64km) which runs along the Angara River.

You can envision that the railway used to border the river until it reached Lake Baikal but this area flooded out in years past.

(courtesy of photo above taken from the Handbook of Circum-Baikal railway)

At that time, it then bordered the lake for a stretch of about 55 miles (89 km) before eventually heading off towards Vladivostok on Russia’s eastern coast. This stretch along Lake Baikal runs from Baikal Station to Slyudyanka Station. Construction of the Circum-Baikal Railway began back in 1899 by both inmates as well as slaves. They worked in grueling conditions including the harsh Siberian winters. When it was built, the section of railroad that ran directly from Irkutsk to Lake Baikal along the Angara River had flooded in years past although the section that bordered the lake was fine. The government had then decided to reroute the railroad from Irkutsk (dismantling the section along the Angara River), and away from Lake Baikal. However, the section along the edge of the lake (the Circum-Baikal Railway section) was still in use but only for tourists to visit this area as it was no longer a part of the Trans Siberian Railway.

One of many bridge crossings we walked over that day

There are a couple of different ways to access the Circum-Baikal Railway section. You can take a train straight from Irkutsk or you can do as we did and drive to the point where one of the main stations sits along the touristy scenic stretch of railroad. We went a step further and turned it into a day trip that involved some hiking.

One of a few small bridges over streams we crossed on our hike down

We drove to a point about 3.5 kilometers from the Circum-Baikal Railway, high up on the hill and then hiked down this distance to make it to the railway. It was a scenic hike, consisting of a large path through the woods that crossed over some small streams with bridges. It took us about 45 minutes to eventually reach the railway and luckily for us, you couldn’t have asked for better weather the day we went. It was definitely chilly but the sun was out and the blue skies over Lake Baikal were amazing as were the changing leaves on the trees that lined the railway for miles. For more information on how to take the train, see the information at the bottom of this post…

Could you have asked for better weather?

Down at the beach area near one of the main railway stops

When you first reach the railway from the trail we hiked, it brings you to a small village which is also one of the main stops on the railway. Within it lies a museum (which is free) in case you want to visit and learn more about the Circum-Baikal Railway. There is also ‘beach’ access you can walk down to which the locals didn’t seem to mind as I’m pretty sure the land was owned by the house behind us. That afternoon, we had continued to walk along the railway an additional 3-4 kilometers.

The main path down to the railway

During our walk, we had passed through a few tunnels along the way. And this was the part that seemed the most mysterious and intriguing to me… Legend has it there are ghosts in the tunnels and while I’m not usually one to be superstitious, I do know these tunnels were built by prisoners in Russia, both day and night, and I’ve been told a lot of people died during construction. The tunnels are made of stone from top to bottom… a method of construction not easily achieved especially back then. Nor is it a method used in more modern construction for tunnel passageways. And some of these tunnels were quite long. I just can’t imagine the conditions and difficulty that must have been involved in order to build these enormous tunnels. Couple this with the fact that this is Siberia, one of the most uninhabitable areas for working outside 6 months out of the year. Temperatures average between -10 to -25 Celsius during the cold season (between 14 F  to -10 F) and it is also known as one of the coldest places on earth!

But the experience of the Circum-Baikal Railway was well worth the day trip. The hike was worth it too even though the hike back was a bit grueling considering it was mostly uphill on the way back. If hiking is not your thing, you can always visit and skip the hike by taking the train the entire way. And if you’d also rather not walk the railroad tracks as we did, you can ride the commuter train as well from our starting point all the way to the Baikal station. That’s what I’ll be doing on my next trip out… Either way, be sure not to miss this place on your visit to Irkutsk or Lake Baikal!

Getting There: If you want to go from Irkutsk on the official tour instead of driving and hiking as we did, you can leave from Irkutsk and go in one of two possible directions to get there. You can catch a passenger train (for tourists) in Irkutsk that will take you to Slyudyanka station, the start of the Circum-Baikal Railway. You’ll then stay in the train while they move your train car to operate onto the Circum-Baikal Railway. The train will then take you from Slyudyanka to the Baikal station. This journey starts with the first train leaving Irkutsk at 8:20 and arrives into Slyudyanka at 10:30. It will take about 30 minutes here as they move the train car onto the Circum-Baikal Railway. From there, it will leave at 11am and arrive to Baikal station at 7pm. You’ll then take a ferry to Listvyanka before catching your bus back to Irkutsk which you should arrive around 10pm.

For more information and to buy your tickets direct (instead of from tour operators), click on Circum-Baikal Railway Information. If you’re Russian isn’t up to par, you can have that website translated from Russian by using Google Chrome’s browser. When you go to it, it will allow you to view the site in English (or you could always just find a local to help you out). You can also take this journey in reverse direction by going to Listvyanka first by bus and carrying on from there…

What it costs: For adults, a first class ticket will cost 2500 Rubles and the Second class ticket will cost 2100 Rubles. Keep in mind costs, train times and info may change as of this writing so be sure to do any additional research before leaving. Any questions, feel free to leave in the comments section. Happy travels…

Don’t forget to pack your dog!